sweet

think i might have found the right fabric to pull the oh-so-pink kitchen together. it's from moda, a group called "urban chiks." ha. appropriately enough, the fabric line is called "sweet." the large scale roses would be the main part of the curtains.

think?

controlling the uncontrollable

since i almost alway post the pretty stuff outside, i thought i'd post reality for you today. yeah. that's my really crappy, weed-eaten, always unkempt lawn. it's a certain sign that things are out of control over here. really, really out of control.

i have a feeling that is the way God wants it. at least, He is telling me things are out of MY control. which is uncomfortable for me, to say the least. but getting more comfortable. at least i know that what i can do is not that big a deal to the Lord. it's what He can do thru me, and for me, and for the people around me.

so, in my quest to give up control completely to Him, today i am asking Him to:

• mow my lawn, or fix my lawnmower, or make the grass stop growing.
• vacuum my house, or fix the vacuum, or make me not care about dust bunnies and fur balls.
• do my work, or give me the desire to do my work, or make my clients not care whether or not i do their work.
• keep the sun in the sky, bring some rain, make it warm but not too warm, and help me to get some time to enjoy whatever "it" is.
• forgive me for this post, which is really quite random, but meant to draw attention to His goodness and provision :)

i hope you are letting Him control your uncontrollables today too :)
happy almost 4th of july.

yay neighbors!

i got a happy surprise today, when the harley-lovin' neighbors started putting the new color on their house...wow! they ARE loud people! this time, i think we might have that gene in common :) love the color so far....


speaking of, i got all the rest of the pink on the walls last night. very excited to get the white parts of the kitchen painted, and on to decorating this baby. loud rules.


speaking of AGAIN, see that house there? those baby birds in there SHAKE the thing, and make so much noise. as does the mom when siesta and i are near, which is always.


i wish i could SEE in there, but i cannot.


i did, however, see this sight today. very tiny, but very much turning. into. something. this is the earliest i have ever had a tomato turn!! go weather!


:) happy day. what day is it, anyway?

more pink kitchens

wow. lots of good pink kitchens, i'm finding...LOVE the first pic....

hope to finish up the painting in mine tonite ;))
then, let the decorating BEGIN.

new lite

so, i have to tell you about our monday night worship group (again). i guess you know it's been ramping up lately. God is in da house, people!! our group leader advertised in her church's life group pamphlet, and we were surprised to have NINE additional people sign up!! for a group that we "press into Open Heaven experience through ardent worship and prayer." yeah. nobody EVER signs up, so nine people is ALOT!

last night was really cool. only 4 additional people showed up this first week (more coming starting next week), 2 men and 2 women. 3 of the 4 had AMAZING testimonies of how God is leading them. one young guy made me cry with his recount of a life of drugs and crime and a pending 40 year sentence in the penitentiary, that God somehow amazingly reversed. this guy preaches to people at TARGET, guys. he is 29 years old. he said that he was never a "popular" kid, but that somehow God has made him very popular with people, very charismatic, the kind of person that people his age seem drawn to. he swears that God has made him the life of the party!! he was just an amazing encouragement. the kind of son i think we'd all like to have, i'm sure God is just smiling over his life.

soooooo. i am thrilled beyond measure. several of us are going to do the street evangelism school together. all of us are excited, and SURE God will show up and His Glory will be known!!! hallelujah!!

ps. can you tell i'm happy/excited?!?

chocolate and cherries

apparently, i was hungry for something this morning. not work, which did not seem too pressing today. sometimes, we freelancers get away with stuff.

anyway, the walls are more than halfway finished. gotta let the paint dry before i can move on, but i should knock this out in the next couple of days. i ended up going with a color called dhurrie pink, which is REAL close to the 1953 kitchen...looks more orange here than it is, although it's an orange-ish pink for sure.

thing is, i have absolutely NO pink things in my kitchen. not one. well, i have a plastic pink gerbera daisy. that needs dusting. i really am thinking this is more the neutral backdrop for all my great green/red/yellow/orange vintage things. oh my heaven's, it's bright! just a cheery, happy bright. not weird at all. i know, call me nuts, but i'm not going for an overall pink look. i'm so excited about how good the floor looks with the color! and also how the big black hole of a refrigerator and stove suddenly make more sense.

and all day long, i got to think of kathy (carey's mom) who helped me - actually mostly did all the work - paint the kitchen the first time. i miss her. i hope she will approve of this new color when she sees it :)

whew. i'm tired. going to go shower and admire for awhile...i kind of wish it was finished, though!


:)

weekend wrapup

sigh. it cannot REALLY be monday, can it? dang. well, if the weekend is over already, i'll waste a little time talking about it. better to live in the past, than in monday morning, i think.


friday nite, i got invited over to check out lou's new patio furniture. the good news is, it's comfy and it goes well with hot fudge sauce. kristie does get a little psycho if there is a chance of rain, cushions must go IMMEDIATELY to the basement, kind of like when i wrapped my new couch in placemats to protect it from siesta. this, too, shall pass.



on saturday, i got in about 5 hours of good garden labor by finishing the next third of the garden mosaic project. whew. i like how it's looking. i am not getting super duper into planting (which is HARD) because i plan to transplant some perennials from the side garden here next spring. patience, that's what i'm growing.



my fave thing in the yard right now is my little dwarf cherry tree. it's rocking the cherries this year, after its "cousin" got ripped out by the roots and stolen last year. sweet baby!

oh, on the frugal front. i am trying to reuse plastic ziploc freezer bags, like i read on somebody's blog. trouble is, they do not seem to dry out!! i want to do my own part, so that nazi minnesotans (in stores, not kirst) who think they are so cool by refusing plastic bags still think i'm cool. cause THAT is important ;)

not much else to report, yesterday was the longest, laziest, best day ever. naps rule, that's all i'm sayin...

i hope you all are rested and ready to go!! happy monday!

thinking pink

i've been thinking about it for awhile, and i admit the urge is growing stronger - to paint my kitchen...pink. well, not pink exactly, but more like a lite, orangey sherbet-like pink. salmon, really. which is a food, no? from the ad i found about it when i googled "pink kitchen" - looks like it was somebody else's great idea in 1953!

a life of fridays

sometimes, i think i measure everything in fridays. everything leads to friday during the work week. and everything subtracts during the weekend. it's like my ground zero, and i get a new one every week.

there is nothing better than waking up on friday morning, knowing that soon, a few tasks here and there, you'll be FREE for an entire weekend. this morning, i've been in the garden, sitting and looking and getting up and looking and pulling a few weeds. perfect way to start the day....hope you have a great one too :)


















on another, completely unrelated note, look what happens when you turn on the faucet in the sink to do dishes, hear your favorite chris tomlin cd playing, stop to go worship, get caught up in worship and forget what you were doing, go back to work in your office, hear something funny an HOUR later, and discover that completely tepid water has been overflowing into the accompanying drain, but not onto the floor.

definitely NOT a friday thing.

lovely day

this song is my absolute favorite, as of sunday evening when i was driving home from brookings at sunset, and heard it on the radio. i also saw Heaven and the angels gathered around the throne, singing "worthy is the lamb."

:) happy wednesday.

happy 3

well, actually it was last week. for 3 years (and a week), i've been blogging. pretty regularly, at least more regularly than i jog. or go to the movies. three years goes by pretty fast, although in some ways it seems like forever ago. in that time i've gained and lost a fiance, a cat, more pounds than i care to think about, and some clients in my business. i'd like to think i've grown in my relationship with Christ, the only gain that really matters. and of course, i've documented bugs and bunnies and fruit and veggies and flowers and found treasures. those are the constants, and i am grateful.

thanks for being here along the way! i still love blogging, i cannot see stopping unless for some reason life shifts dramatically away from my computer. i am glad you stopped by ;)

summer's here

in honor of the first monday of summer, i broke out the skort. ah. what an invention! people over 40 rejoice with me!! this particular version has weird knit biker shorts built in underneath. i don't know yet, but i bet i can sweat and will still be comfy in skorty goodness!

he he. skorty goodness. ah, to live a grateful life...


in other news, the perennial beds are looking nice. they don't normally get watered, unless it's really bad. so, they liked the rainfall.


Lord, help me to quit buying plants! this flat of moss roses will have to go somewhere. better keep digging up dirt, i guess...


you couldn't resist either, right?!


oh. the unfurling. going quite nicely, thanks. i may have a giant caladium by summer's end!

whew. okay. monday mode, monday mode, monday mode.
:) wishing you as much luck with that as i'm having!

sunday goodness

it's a sleeping in, sitting on the porch and drinking coffee, staring out at the unfinished yard work, baking cupcakes and heading down the highway kind of day.

hope yours is a good one!

succies

i could look at you forever.

rain rain

so far this month, it has rained more days than not. i kind of like it. today, for example, it rained and looked gloomy, but now it's brightening up! kind of like a fresh batch for every day. bring it on. that's my rain barrel above. i am so excited that kristie's dad is going to get me a recycled rainbarrel (old soap container) over the 4th of july. woo hoo! i hope it keeps raining.


the unfurling is complete. now we just need to see how BIG he is going to get.


i did discover a fairly major leak in my nest. doh. the joy of home ownership. anybody know how to tar a roof?


luckily, i got my $1 thrifted plastic tablecloth set up yesterday. see how cute it is, lou!


oh, and the digging up of the back yard continues. sweat was produced doing this little section. i ran out of mulch and busted a paving stone, but ALMOST there.

is it friday yet? so much to do besides working!
:)

random design day

like every designer who is worth even a small hoot, i appreciate great design when i see it. that's why it was exciting to behold this "Jolly Jug" at the thrift store last week. i love, love, love the perfection of the design. for all those designers out there who think they are cool with their sleek and modern design, take a look at the people who invented it. in the 1950s, no less. this great little guy was designed by a lady named petra cabot, who is my new favorite dead designer. her bio is interesting. i wonder if it was her idea to put the red round cap on top? because that is GENIUS.

anyway, i love looking at it. i was not going to buy it though, because what the heck will i do with all this useless stuff. until lou unscrewed the lid, and yep, there is a neat glass container in there. so i can actually make hygienic lemonade with it this summer. to be honest, i just want to take a photo with a beach blanket and feet with flip flops and this. sigh.

happy design day!